Purpose -To describe the development of the library management system, e-Granthalaya, for public libraries in India. This is an initiative of the Indian government's National Informatics Centre (NIC). The paper outlines the challenges and the potential of a full-scale deployment of this software at a national level. Design/methodology/approach -The project is being implemented in various phases depending on the funds, infrastructure and willingness of the various state governments and library authorities. This case study provides an understanding of the challenges confronted by the NIC in the scale and scope of the deployment of e-Granthalaya. The national effort towards a "single window access" is constructively undertaken with an infrastructure deployment phase followed by a services integration phase: both of these are undertaken in tandem with local conditions and technological developments. Findings -The proposed end-product is a web-based online library service connecting public libraries in India and integrating library services in a "single window access". The authors conclude that there is a need for greater orchestration of funding provision, acquisitions of systems, data entry of catalogues, hosting and so on.Research limitations/implications -The project will be useful as a model for the automation, networking and federating of resources for other groups of libraries in India. Originality/value -The paper is a case study of design, development and implementation of the e-Granthalaya software in India's public libraries.

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There are a number of ready-made library automation software packages in the market. However, many of these packages lack web interface and, thus, do not provide library database access (OPAC, etc.) through web. Moreover, these commercial packages provide less flexibility to librarians for make desired changes to the existing databases and to publish the same on the web. Therefore, designing in-house databases in libraries by using common relational database tools (RDBMS) like MS Access, SQL, DB2, etc., as back-end solutions is an area of deep concern. This paper discusses the merits and demerits of the currently available RDBMS software for library applications as back-end solutions. The paper also discusses the various tools/technologies required/available for publishing the library databases over web. It has also been emphasized to use the technology that is more user friendly, easy to design, requires less programming skill thus, suitable for librarians to setup web-enabled solutions in the libraries.

Purpose -To share the experiences gained during the migration of library data from one library management system (LibSyse) to another (e-Granthalayae). Design/methodology/approach -The paper describes the step-by-step approach taken to migrate the existing library data to the new software. The paper also discusses the peculiarities of the source software from which data were converted and the practical approach adopted in solving the problems faced during the conversion. Findings -During the process of the conversion of the library data from one software to another many lessons have been learned. These lessons and experiences will be useful for us in the future to import/export the data from other software such as MINISIS, CDS/ISIS, TECHLIB PLUS, etc. being used in Indian libraries. Moreover, the switch over from one software to another is also useful for the libraries as the existing data are refined and cleaned during the conversion process. Originality/value -The authors share the lessons learned during the conversion process and hope that these will be useful to others in migration of data.